Level Up: The Blade of Exile
by BlackDeath1000
Summary: Michael Ragas isn't just a boy. He is the only being destined to wield the Blade of Exile; The evil lord Maldark's only true weakness. However, he has no idea about what his true calling is. Angie Prietto is the most powerful in personality and strength of the NeverFail clan.When the two meet it seems that nothing can separate them. Until Maldark declares war on their world.
1. Chapter 1

_**Level Up: The Blade of Exile**_

Prologue

"So, are you ready for your first day at Daventry Hills High?" Michael Ragas looked up at his sister, who was gleaming with anticipation, then too the relatively bland redbrick building. His sister had some age on him; while he was sixteen, she was thirty. Dressed in a purple blouse and Sateen leggings, she was gorgeous, with pale blonde hair and crystal blue eyes. Unfortunately with all her beauty, she couldn't make him feel any better about this. "Uh, no. Why do I have to transfer here? I was doing just fine at Cross Town." He responded. He really didn't want to be at this horrible looking school. From what he heard, it had infestations, dirty toilets, and many more unmentionables.

Sarah sighed. "Because, I think you should have the experience of being in a public school. With _real_ people. Not those weirdoes who look and act like they where made in a factory." Knowing that trying to win an argument with his older sister was impossible, he opened the door to their black convertible and leaped out, taking his 18 inch Blue Plaid Urban Sport book bag along with him. "Well, I might as well get this over with." Wishful thinking. He still had an entire semester to look forward to before there was even a slim chance of him leaving. At least after this semester he would be able to leave.

His sister seemed oblivious to his more than plain animosity to this idea. Either that, or she was just ignoring it." She smiled and waved him good bye. "That's the spirit Mickey. Good luck!" She drove off.

Michael cringed at the nick name she had made up for him. Michael sounded so much cooler that "Mickey". Donning his opaque sunglasses that obscured his eyes, Michael started toward the new school with his held high. Whatever horrors this school brought, his state of mind, indomitable will, and martial art skills where more than ready for them.

* * *

"Hey Angie! There's a new student from Cross Town in our class today." Wyatt Black yelled over excitedly toward his best friend. Dressed in a black jacket and plaid shirt and shorts, he ran over to the girl with the news. Angie looked up from her seat on the cafeteria table that she usually sat on. She was reading more of the Conqueror of all Worlds manual, hoping not to have another "Glamazonian Death Challenge" fiasco on her hands, or head.

While Wyatt was dressed with obviously no style; she wore a hot pink top that exposed her shoulder, and some plain black leggings that stopped at her ankles. Her face frowned up in confusion. "And this involves me how?" She asked.

"Well," Wyatt said putting his hands on his hips. "The guy did have a perfect grade score in all of his classes, and was the president of Cross Town's martial arts club." He explained, inadvertently bragging on another dude.

Angie had to admit, that was impressive, especially for a guy. But then, maybe she was hanging around Wyatt, Dante, and Lyle too long.

Before either of them could get another word out, the school bell signifying the final period was beginning rang. "Oh, shoot!" Wyatt exclaimed dramatically. "I'm late! I'll catch you later Angie!" He ran as fast as he could without tripping or doing something equally as embarrassing.

She sighed at her best friend. He could be overbearing and annoying at times, but he was reliable and had a good heart nonetheless. Now, if only she could get him off of that rivalry with Joaquin. Getting her things together and setting them in her Jan Sport Throttle book bag, she headed towards her "friend" Max Ross's computer class; the class Wyatt was in a hurry to get to so that he could get as much gaming time in as possible.

Angie sat next to Lyle and Wyatt, who where to busy playing that stupid game of theirs to notice her. Dante was late as usual, the idiot. Rolling her eyes at her near pathetic group of friends, Angie started to pull her pink ear phones out, Max never did anything but talk to his fellow billionaires about how much money they had. She plugged the ear phone plug into the computer when she saw him.

A full six foot, he strode into the room as if he owned it. He had coal black hair that was similar to Dante's but better kept and straightened into streaks. Three bangs fell over into his face. His face was so incredibly handsome that he'd be pretty if he didn't have such a rugged aura. His body was also formed to absolute perfection. His complexion looked as though he was a mix of her own Latina heritage and that of an African American. He wore a casual one button black blazer that was opened to show a Misfits t-shirt. His G-star black jeans were tucked into a pair of high-top black and white converse.

All the girls gawked at his external beauty. But he paid them not attention as he shrugged a blue backpack off his broad shoulder and set it down on the floor by the seat he chose to take right in front of her, before he sat down and crossed his arms behind the back of his head. Slow, graceful and serene, and yet he gave them impression that at any minute he could explode into action to take down anyone who threatened him. Lyle and the other boys only talked about how much of an addition he'd make to the football team. Wyatt was still playing the game, oblivious to what was happening in the real world.

Max had finally realized that they had a new student. He fumbled trying to get out of his comfortable position in the chair he occupied. After nearly tripping on his graduation gown's tail, he straightened up and indicated the young man with his thumb.

"All right." He sighed tiredly, although he had been up for only five minutes. "This is the new kid: Michael Ragas." He stated, before he went back to his desk and slumped down in his rolling chair.

"_My God." _Angie thought to herself. "_Who is this guy?" _

* * *

_Author Note: My first Fan fiction! This is a story of Angie and an OC! Rate and Comment!_

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	2. Chapter 2

The next day, Michael awoke feeling slightly better than he did the day before. At least one good thing came out of yesterday. He had met the prettiest girl he'd ever seen. _Angie. _He learned her name during class when Max was calling roll. Man she was hot, and considering today was his favorite day, he felt even better. Rising, he went towards the shower to prepare for the day he had ahead of him. Thirty minutes latter, he was prepped to perfection.

He went downstairs to the kitchen. Strange, his sister wasn't there. She was probably just out late again. Oh well, he'd just pick something up on down the way. He was going to meet a guy named Dante there who he met after school. The guy was mesmerized by his motorcycle, he practically begged him to come over to his "HQ" and let him have a closer look at it. He was pretty gross, but he learned to get used to that. Like he had a choice.

Exiting the house, he made his way towards the garage where his Kawasaki Ninja was parked. Once he set his eyes on it he smirked deviously. He straddled the bike as he donned his helmet. Clad in leather to protect him while riding, he was all set to start the day.

Angie sat on the set of steps that led to the upper part of the HQ. She was recording Dante doing crazy stunts before she heard an engine roaring. "What's that? She asked, setting the camera down by her side. Dante rode down the ramp, stopped himself, and unhooked his helmet. "It must be Michael; I invited him over here so I could check out his motorcycle." He exclaimed, before running towards the exit.

Lyle rolled his eyes. "Michael? You mean that guy that everyone keeps yammering about? Pah-lease." He then waved a dismissive hand on the matter. Wyatt looked up at his friend with a look that promised Lyle some teasing. "Looks like someone is jealous." Lyle shook his head in denial. "Me? Jealous? Please, all one has to do is look at me and know that there isn't anything that could make me jealous." He bragged.

Angie walked toward the exit with Dante. They had neared the outside when they where intercepted by Michael. Angie froze as she got a closer look at him. Dante all but flew to the boy and his motorcycle. He was even hotter than she thought. The leather he wore clung to his body to the point to where one might doubt his sexual orientation if there wasn't that aura of manliness around him. He climbed off the motorcycle and gave Dante a high five while the latter danced around the bike.

He turned and their eyes met for the first time. She was speechless and frozen by his glance. This never happened before. There was something about him that called out to her, like she was the missing part of his soul. Okay, that was a little corny, but she felt what she felt.

She slowly began to walk toward the duo while Michael was still in her eyes and Dante was now sitting on the motorcycle making "vroom" noises. She extended her hand which he quickly took. It was strange, it was like someone had put them on auto pilot anytime they where near each other. She really had to control these hormones.

Michael couldn't breathe as he stood this close to Angie. She wore a sleeveless cream V neck T shirt and black skinny jeans. He shoes where a pair of black converse. She was delectable. Delicious. But, there was something powerful about her. Something that told him she didn't need a man to complete her. Before he knew what he was doing, he bent down and captured her lips with his own.

Angie moaned at the taste of his lips. He smelled of BOD cologne, and his lips tasted like strawberries. Their kisses deepened as the two teens wrapped their arms around each other.

Michael was in paradise. He ran his hand into her hair as he wrapped his other arm around her waist. She was incredible. He didn't why, but something about her entered his heart and embraced it. But this couldn't be. They barely knew one another.

Breaking the kiss, Michael stepped back. "S- Sorry. I…uh…I gotta go." He stammered as he all but pushed Dante of the motorcycle and drove off with his helmet on. Dante was flat on his bum shocked as what he'd just seen. "Uh…did I miss something?"

Angie stood numbly. He absence already stung. They barely knew each other's first names and they already had a make out session. It was down right surreal. Before another thought could pass through her mind, Wyatt came out running with Blast-a-Ton and Lyle came out with the Thunder Pole. "Guys!" Wyatt shouted, "There's a Leak!"


	3. Chapter 3

Michael had arrived back at his sister's house. He had stopped the bike abruptly within a few feet of the garage, and almost fell off. Like it mattered, he had just kissed Angie. The girl he dreamed about last night when he was supposed to be asleep. Damn, he was whipped. But how could he be? He didn't even know the girl's first name.

Shaking his head at his situation, he exited the garage and made his way into the house. His sister still wasn't there. Great. He desperately needed someone to talk to. And since him and his sister where all either one of them had from the start, she was the only one he could trust with everything.

He walked through the house and searched through all the rooms. Where the hell was she? He pulled out his cell phone and started to dial before he heard a strange noise in the back yard. Going to investigate it, he charged towards the spot ready to fight whoever was back there. He opened the door and couldn't believe what he saw. He had no time to grasp it a something hit him in the chest and sent him flying across the hallway.

Angie and the guys where heading towards the spot where the leak was suppose to be. As usual they rode in Lyle's car. They had to hide their weapons from the public to keep suspicion to a minimum. Although this was broad daylight, she honestly didn't know how they would handle this. It was in a suburban neighborhood, and Angie knew that trying to bard a leak in the middle of a neighborhood would probably defeat the purpose.

Wyatt had signaled Lyle to stop the car in front of a redbrick house. It looked brand new and was considerably large. The garage was on the left side of the house. Someone had left it opened where she could see a Kawasaki Ninja parked.

Oh no. Surely this couldn't be him. _You're being paranoid. _Maybe she was. There where a lot of guys who drove a Kawasaki, it didn't _have_ to be Michael.

Lyle, Dante, and Wyatt jumped out of the car with their weapons in hand. It was good thing it was Saturday and everyone was out, or else they would be in serious trouble.

"Tulta munille!" The boys cried out before they rushed the front of the house where the leak was supposed to be.

They where a mere foot away before someone was sent careening through the front door into the yard. Debris flew everywhere as the boys narrowly got hit by the body. The boy landed on his back, but strangely he rolled over onto his feet and Angie could see who the victim was.

_Michael _She thought to herself_. _She was already running at full speed to check on him.

Michael lifted himself up. Okay, now he was pisssed off. Ignoring the fact that whatever this thing was threw him through the entire house, he ran at the creature. Thanks to his quick reflexes he managed to grab one of the Japanese _katanas _he had bought online.

Rushing towards it, he could finally see his assailant. The creature was clad in blood red armor that covered most of his body with the exception of incredibly bright yellow eyes that glowed. Literally. Drawing the blade from its scabbard, Michael rushed passed the three boys who where stunned that he could move like that given what just happened to him a few minutes ago.

The demon thing drew one of its blades off of its back and engaged Michael. He could barely get close before the creature was on him; its swiftness and force was astounding. Whatever this thing was…it wasn't human.

He threw himself to the side, narrowly missing the creature's blade. He swirled around in a beautiful and graceful arc until he was standing behind it. He brought his blade down on the demon's back. It hissed before it reached its leg up and kicked him in the ribs. Michael coughed up saliva with hints of blood in it. Damn this thing was strong. But, then again, he kind of figure that when it through him through the house.

Not losing his footing, he charged it again when it swerved around to meet him. Their blades clashed, metallic humming ran through the air as they continued to battle.

Needless to say, Angie was shocked when she saw Michael fight the leak. He matched it blow for blow as the two went at it like two mother bears trying to protect their cubs. The leak went in for the attack with its blade; Michael dodged and flipped him over his back, it landed on its feat and charged him once more. Damn he was a great fighter. Probably the best she'd seen. She had a whole new respect for his prowess as he and the leak went at it like there was no tomorrow. Probably because if one of them relented, there would _not _be a tomorrow.

Angie finally realized that she and the guys had their weapons. "What are we doing!? Tulta munille!" She said as she charged the leak with her Fist of Schoolage. The guys soon followed suit, raising their weapons and shouting various battle phrases.

The leak noticed the bunch and pushed Michael away. It then performed a barrier spell that kept him at bay. "Hey!" He shouted, punching the barrier with everything he had. She had to give the boy credit; he sure as hell had some fighting spirit.

Before she could make contact with the leak, Wyatt fired a mini sun from the right, while Dante jumped and brought down his Skull Cracker upon it head. Angie was shocked at what happened next. The leak caught the Skull Cracker blow in one hand, and the mini sun within the other.

Angie didn't like the look it had when it exchanged glances between Wyatt, who was shocked stiff with his mouth wide open, and Dante, who was still trying to pry his weapon from the things hand.

What happened next seemed to stop time itself. The leak slammed the mini sun into Dante's chest.


	4. Chapter 4

"Dante!" Michael yelled. He had to do something, quick. From the looks of it, that fire gave Dante third degree burns on his chest. He kept punching at the barrier but to no avail. But while he did so, Wyatt and Angie attacked the beast with a new found fury. While Lyle, on the other hand went to go and see if he could help Dante.

Angie attack with her Fist of Schoolage, the monster caught her fist in its hand without the slightest bit of discomfort. It then proceeded to deliver a vicious backhand across her face. Oh hells no, bud. This has just gotten personal.

Apparently Wyatt thought the same as he charged in with his weird looking weapon. He then shot of a miniature rocket from the weapon at the monsters back. The explosion caused him to fly backwards and land on his back. The monster however, was unscathed. It looked back at the boy who was nearing unconsciousness, it then dragged Angie against her will towards the unfortunate, yet brave young man. She continued to fight it before it positioned her to look at her friend. Tears rolled down her eyes as the monster conjured a large fire ball in its hand.

"Eyeiss!" A voice cried out from behind. At that instant, a green ray of energy shot towards the creatures back. While it was caught off guard, it wasn't damaged. Instead, it proceeded with conjuring the fire ball. Using a sudden motion, it twirled around and shot the fire ball at Lyle.

Lyle summoned a force field at the last moment to protect himself and Dante, who was still laying there. With no signs of life. However, the force field broke on contact and sent him towards the ground so hard Michael was surprised he didn't dent it.

The creature laughed evilly, and for the first time since their encounter, he heard its voice. "So this is the mighty NeverFail!? Maldark, you pathetic dog! You where never fit to rule the southern dimension." It snarled, a strange echo rang from its voice.

What was a "Maldark"? And what "southern dimension" was this thing talking about? Before he could even try to contemplate it, the monster slammed Angie to the ground next to Wyatt. The monster used some sort of restriction spell to keep her restrained. It started to reconjur its flames.

Suddenly, a rage of which he had never felt before swelled up within Michael. When he spoke, his voice resonated throughout the entire field. "_I am the wielder of the Blade of Exile; let everyone who trespasses against me fall before my feet. And let them world of which they spawned tremble in fear of my wrath." _

Angie heard the words coming from her pseudo-boyfriends words. They where powerful and resonating. Before anyone moved, Michael was covered in gold light. With a wave of his hand, he swept it away, the Michael she knew was gone. Now fully clad in armor. Michael was clad from head to toe in armor that had shades of dark brown, gold, and red. Dull orange lines decorated the armor as well. Notable features of his armor where the upturned, sharp red hooks on the backs of his boots, a navy blue cape. He now sported prongs on either side. The he had, had a textured, dark brown color, with brass edges. The teeth where made of two pick-like points, with two hammer-like protrusions on the opposite side. The guard is an off-blue color, and seems to be crafted from two Omega insignias. The pommel had a dark blue cone.

The leak didn't seem afraid, rather it laughed. "What? You think that just because you broke a barrier meant to conceal a _human _that you're powerful?" It gave a short, dry, laugh. "Let us see if you are a challenge, scum" It then drew both of its blades, and displayed a stance of power and skill. "Come!"

Moving with speeds even her trained eye couldn't see, Michael appeared behind the leak and brought his blade down in one, clean swipe. He cut it in half. The leak burst into code as Angie found that she could move freely again. She slowly stood to her feet, grasping the situation. NeverFail got their butts kicked up and down, and Michael just dons a new armor and bards it? Not fair.

Suddenly, it donned on her. Michael was a leak. There was no other explanation for it. He had to be. Nothing else made sense, he couldn't be human. No human could do this.

Tears pricked her eyes. Just when she had found a guy she had a possible future with, he turned out to be fake. Literally. Straight form the mind of Max Ross. She ground her teeth at the bitter truth. Michael wasn't real. He was something straight from a game she didn't even play.

The armor-clad leak that she had foolishly fell in love with looked towards her direction. She braced herself for what was coming. If the best she could do was something from a game, then maybe she should just die. Before she could bat an eye, he appeared behind her over Wyatt.

"Leave him alone!" She yelled viciously, preparing to attack him with her armored fist. The leak didn't seem to pay her any attention as it bent over and picked up Wyatt. She charged at him. However, he threw out his left arm and froze her in place. Getting frozen was getting pretty annoying. The thing held Wyatt by his slender neck, just when she thought that he was going to kill him, something unexpected happened. A radiant glow of golden energy consumed Wyatt, before his eyes shot open.

_ .God. _The leak actually healed Wyatt! "Uh...what…?" Wyatt stammered, raking his hand through his hair to alleviate to the pain that was searing through his head. He opened his eyes to see an armored being holding him by the throat. He shrieked like a seven year old girl. "Who-What happened to the…._other _leak?! And who the hell are you!?"

Angie answered the question morosely. "He's Michael, Wyatt. He's a leak." Wyatt was so shocked he fainted. Michael dropped him. Literally. He then went over to Dante and Lyle. Angie was completely shocked at his actions, he wasn't hurting anyone. Rather, he was helping them. He looked down upon Dante. Angie flinched and covered her mouth as she saw the extent of the damage down to him. The armored leak held his hand out over what she assumed was his corpse. Light that shimmered down in the form of dust shot down into his chest. Dante's eyes shot open, his body was lifted up limply and was consumed in the light. If Angie wasn't so afraid of what would happen she would have thought it beautiful. Once the light dispersed, Dante fell flat on the ground gasping for air. Throwing his hand out, Michael pulled Lyle towards him and performed a similar action. The only difference was that his body only faintly glowed before he two gasped for air. He let him go.

Lyle and Dante saw the being and ran for their weapons and then back to Angie and Wyatt. "What happened?" Lyle asked Angie, who was to numb to feel fear. Still, she tried to calm her friends down. Placing a comforting hand on their shoulders, she explained what happened.


	5. Chapter 5

Angie, Dante, Wyatt, and Lyle drove to the HQ. Wyatt had finally regained consciousness and had contacted Max about what happened. Naturally he was only interested in the situation because of the leak they had described. When Angie told Wyatt to tell him about something called the Blade of Exile, Max had flipped out and told them to meet him five minutes or less.

They had finally arrived when the saw Max standing next to the red couch they shared. With Wyatt by her side, Angie walked over to Max and explained everything that happened. Dante and Lyle laid Michael on the couch genteelly.

"The Blade of Exile? Are you sure?" He asked worriedly. But Max was no where near as worried as Angie was. "Yeah. What about it?" She asked, crossing her arms over her chest to alleviate her nervousness. Max let out an audible sigh. Whatever the Blade of Exile was, it must have been important to make Max behave like this. He put his hands on his hips and started explaining. "The Blade of Exile is the most powerful weapon in all of Conqueror of All Worlds."

The boys gasped in unison, while she frowned in confusion. "If it's so powerful than why haven't I read about it in the manual?" She questioned. Max looked like he was hiding something, but he eventually explained further. "The Blade of Exile was too powerful to be put into the game officially. It enhances the player's physical, mental and magical abilities to incredible, levels. Far beyond any other weapon in the game. One who wields it can destroy entire nations in a day. It is Maldark's only true weakness. Ironically, it's also his greatest strength."

Angie and the guys where shocked. However, one question still remained. "What about Michael?" She asked. Max threw his hands up. "I don't know if he is a leak. But if what you said about him wielding the blade, then he may be the sword's owner."

Hope was stating to return to Angie, while the other guys stood shocked, she continued with her rapid assault of questions. "Do the effects of the blade carry over into the real world?" Max shook his head. "I don't know, I only know what I just told you about the sword. But there is someone who knows more than I do."

"Who?" They all asked in unison. Max rolled his eyes in disgust. "Sarah Ragas."


	6. Chapter 6

Michael awoke in the strangest place he could imagine: someone else's bed. And from the looks of the room, it was a girl's bed. Thank God, considering the act he was shirtless. The last thing he needed was to wake up in some guy's bed shirtless. Letting lose a breath of relief, he rose to his feet. Strange, he didn't remember how he got here at all. In fact, this was a place totally unfamiliar to him. The room was a hot pink; it had a large book case on the left side of the bed. It was decorated with posters of various boy bands. Now completely up from the bed, he looked around for any evidence of where he was.

He searched the bookshelf for anything that might help. What he found was a diary. Its lock had a blue thumb pad on it. Jeez, someone was private. He looked more closely at the book; it had an engraftment that spelled "Angie". He immediately dropped the book. Surely this wasn't _her _house, or more to the point her _bedroom. _He suddenly heard someone approach the door; stunned, but not stupid enough to give the girl any evidence that he was looking through her things, he set the diary back on the shelf where he found it.

Coming through the door was exactly what he feared: _Angie. _Now wearing a red, loose top and blue jeans, she was every bit as beautiful as he remembered. Her lip gloss was the same color, and if he didn't know better, he'd say that she had blush on her face. Once he remembered what he saw before he was knocked out, it wasn't a hard reason why. That…monster, demon thing that attacked them had beaten the living crap out of them all. Angie and Dante got the worst of it.

Suddenly remembering what happened to the crazy redhead and Angie, Michael shot out of bedand grabbed her by her shoulders.

Angie didn't know what Michael was trying to do. Considering they were in her bedroom and he was half naked, she dared guess why. Using a maneuver from her Krav Maga training, Angie flipped the boy over her shoulder. Unfortunately for her, she wasn't the only one who had training in martial arts. Once she foolishly let go of him, Michael swept his foot out with lightning fast speeds and knocked her feet from under her. Using the same speed, he slid his body over hers and held her wrists down. His legs straddled her hips; she could feel his muscled body pressed against hers, a body that didn't seem to have any fat on it. Only pure muscle. He had her totally pinned down.

"Calm down. I only want to talk to you." He explained. She barely heard him. It was too hard to concentrate with his body on hers like this. When she finally came to she nodded "Fine. But don't try anything stupid." He smirked at her, "Believe me, I won't. You may not believe this, but I'm not the type to force himself on a woman." She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Now get off of me."

It was pretty hard to comply. She was exquisite. Her eyes where a dark brown, yet they snapped with incredible life and fire. Her skin was creamy and smooth. He could see a slight swelling of her lip from where the monster had smacked her. Still, even that didn't distract from her absolute beauty. But it did manage to set fire to his temper. He didn't know why, but he suddenly became angry and protective over her. That made no sense considering they had just met. Still…"Where's the thing that hit you?" He asked, bordering on demanding.

Angie was shocked at his anger and protectiveness. But more than that she was shocked at the fact that he was oblivious to the fact that _he _killed it. "Don't you remember? You killed it." She answered. From his reaction she could tell that he didn't. Letting go of her, Michael sat back on his legs. "I don't have a clue about what you're talking about."

Wow. Turning into an all-powerful leak wasn't something she thought forgettable. "Well here's what happened." She began explaining.

Michael's eyes widened before he stifled a laugh. But that didn't last long before he burst out in hysterics. "Angie," He said, still trying to control himself. "There is something _seriously _wrong with you." Angie narrowed her eyes on him. "There's nothing wrong with me. But considering what you transformed into, I'd say there's something wrong with _you." _She retorted.

Michael rose fully to his feet, which gave Angie the full view of his spectacular physique. He wasn't just muscle bound; his body was slim, yet was rippled with unimaginable power. His hair was ruffled from laying on her mattress His stance oozed power and masculinity. It took every reserve she had not to show any signs of just how attracted she was to him. He extended his hand of which she quickly took too left her up to her feet.

His face now serious, he looked at her with intensity. Intensity that set fire to every part of her body. "Did I really transform into some sort of monster?" He asked. "Why? You didn't believe me before." She answered.

"Well, would you want to believe that you were some monster from another world?" He snapped back. He had a point. She would probably try to laugh off the fact that she might have never been human to begin with to if she were in his shoes. "No. No, I wouldn't. But at the same time, I wouldn't insult someone else's intelligence or grasp on sanity. Believe me; I've seen a lot of weird things in my day." She then smiled genteelly at him, before placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Whatever this is, we'll get through it. Together."

Michael was completely taken aback by her offer. Granted, his heart was touched by it. There was still one fact that couldn't be overlooked…"We barely know each other." He finally stated.

Angie took what he said in stride. "That may be true, but be honest: have you never felt anything for me? I mean, besides lust?" She asked.

Michael didn't have to think long before he knew the answer to that one. From the first time he laid eyes on her he had felt a strong pulling in her direction. He felt like something called out to her from inside of him. And every minute he wasn't with her, he mentally and emotionally kicked his own butt. "Yes. And it was never lust to begin with. It was something on a far deeper level than that." He took a deep breath before he finished his statement. He knew how sudden and corny this would sound, but he had to let her know how he felt. He didn't need to be a fortune teller to know that if he didn't, he would regret it for the rest of his life. "Look Angie, I was never one to believe in that "love at first sight" thing. But, when I saw you in Max Ross's class, everything I had ever thought of that to be a lie, I found out that it couldn't be truer."

Angie bit back a cry after she heard those words. She was never his emotional; she was more the strong, forceful, sarcastic type. Never had anyone ever brought out this much emotion from her. Ever. Not even Wyatt had seen this side of her, even when she tried to assure him that Dante and Lyle not wanting to hang out with him was their problem.

This time, she knew exactly what she was doing. She pulled him close, tilted his head down, and captured his lips with her own. It wasn't the blind frenzy they had the first time. It was a kiss truly meant to give solace, to say the things that words could not even begin to fathom. Their kisses deepened slowly, hesitantly, softly. The intensity grew as their emotions came to the surface. Michael lifted Angie from the ground; she could tell that he was strong, but still she was shocked at how he carried her to the bed, and gently laid her down. He gracefully slid his body over hers; his touch was so light on her that she though him afraid of unintentionally hurting her. "It's okay." She breathed. "You won't hurt me."

Michael was surprised that she knew his thoughts. In all honesty, he believed what she said about him transforming into that creature. The fact that she would let him near her like this said much about how much she trusted him. He hands found the hem of her red shirt.

Trusting him completely, Angie arched her back and stretched her arms out. Once it was off, she pulled him back towards her and kissed him fiercer. Their kisses lingered as their tongues danced together in harmony. She wrapped her legs around his waist. She wanted to be as close to him as possible, wanting everything that stood between them gone. She unbuckled his pants and gently caressed the most private part of his body.

Michael yelped, he wanted to be inside her in the fiercest of ways. He found the button to her jeans, just as he went to unbuckle them, Angie's phone rang.

Making a sound of deep disgust, Angie snatched the phone from her counter. "Who the hell is this!?" She snarled into the phone. Michael had to stifle a laugh at her rancor. It was so cute. As long as it wasn't pointed at him. He would hate to have her anger kindled at him.

From the sound of it, Wyatt was on the other line. "_Uh...It's Wyatt. We found Sarah Ragas." _ Michael's face frowned up at the mention of his sister's name. What did she have to do with this?

Angie caught the look in Michael's eyes before she spoke again. "Thanks, Wyatt." She stated irritably. "I'll catch you later." Before he could respond, she hung the phone up. Michael sat back on his legs. "Angie," He asked suspiciously. "What does my sister have to do with this?"

Angie's eyes widened in shock at that revelation. While she heard that the person of interest's full name, she was concerned about Michael to put the pieces together. Now she could. The person who created the Blade of Exile was Michael's sister. That could only mean one thing:

Michael was _not _a leak.


	7. Chapter 7

Michael shook his head at what Angie was saying. It just didn't make any sense. Leaks. Maldark. This "Blade of Exile". But the most unbelievable part was the fact that his only sister, the only one who was ever there for him had anything to do with this. The thought of her possibly hiding something from him, or betraying him was unfathomable. "You're so full of crap Angie; you should own a fertilizing company."

Angie stood up fully and placed her hands on her hips. From her expression, Michael could tell she didn't appreciate that particular comment. "Look," She snarled, hating to be called a liar. "I have no reason to lie. Especially to you."

Now it was Michael's time to stand. When he did, he almost towered over Angie. "No." He said severely. "My _sister _is the one who has no reason or motive for lying. She, who stood by my side through everything my entire life; she, who never abandoned or gave up on me, even when I've given up on my self. _ She _has no reason to lie to me. You on the other hand, who I haven't even known for a full week, have more reason to lie and screw me over than my sister." His voice was rigid and angry.

Angie was speechless. She felt like someone had literally glued her mouth shut, and shut off her brain functions. She was so shocked at his rancor, that she didn't even notice him leaving her room. Angry that he not only dismissed her, but mistrusted her, she spun on him.

Michael couldn't even react before Angie had him pinned to the wall. He saw all the anger and pain in her eyes. It shouldn't have affected him. But it did. He had hurt her deep, _real _deep. But that didn't take away from his own anger, "What are you doing?" He asked angrily.

Angie was still contemplating what to say. All the emotion that he triggered was swelling up inside her. When she finally spoke, her voice came out as a strangled cry. "Don't you _dare _call me a liar. Don't you ever accuse me of trying to separate rate a brother and sister ever again." She looked up at him. Pain from a past that still haunted her clouded her mind and misted her eyes.

Michael was shocked. He had never seen her like this. In the short time they'd known each other; he had thought her to be the strong and forceful type. He'd never thought that she had any passed sins haunting her. He didn't want to push her any further. He could tell that the raw emotions built up within her were on the breaking point. His face solemn, he spoke in only a whisper. "I'm sorry, Angie."

She didn't even hear him. The memories of her past came back with the force of a Mack truck. It slammed into her full force and near took her off her feet. Her heart almost shattered. At least, until Michael pulled her into his arms and held her close. She felt his embrace. The love and regret for making her cry outmatched the rugged aura that normally enveloped him. "I'm so sorry, Angie." He whimpered over her.

Michael felt like total garbage. Angie wasn't trying to separate him from Sarah at all. She was only trying to protect him, and he cursed her for it. Throwing his head back, he groaned at his own stupidity. He blew it. He really blew it.

"Angie. I'm really sorry I said that to you. Not like it's an excuse, but everyone has been trying to separate me from my sister. All that has made me protective over me and my sister's bond. But still, I shouldn't have blown up on you like that."

Angie begun to push away, much to Michael's chagrin. She begun to wipe away the tears that he caused. He winced at the truth. In one moment of anger, he had hurt someone dear to him.

Angie wiped her tears away, and looked up at Michael's worried face. Her face turned to stone, she finally spoke. "I think its time for us to go meet Max." she said. Michael stepped forward, placing his hand on her shoulder. She pulled away.

Heartbroken, he pulled away. "Alright. Let's go." As he begun to walk away, he stopped, and turned. "Listen, Angie. I didn't mean to hurt you at all, let alone that deep. I never meant to reopen a wound that you wanted healed. That was not my intention at all. I just couldn't believe that my own sister would lie to me and keep me in the dark about something important. And I still don't. But now, I have faith that you won't lie to me either."

That helped Angie a bit. But still…"You still hurt me, Michael." She said under her breath. Michael stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her. This time, she didn't pull away. That was a start. "I know. And I can't tell you enough of just how sorry I am. Both in this situation and in character." He said sincerely.

Angie wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him even closer to her. "You're not a sorry person. You just have to learn when to shut up." Angie said half-jokingly.

Michael smiled. He was so glad he didn't ruin this by being stupid. "Thanks." Angie pulled away and looked up at him. "So, you ready?" Michael nodded. It was time for some major answers. And his sister had some explaining to do.


	8. Chapter 8

**Sarah **took in the damage to her house as she surveyed the damage. She wore a black V-neck T-shirt and black jeans. Crossing he arms over her chest, she sighed in aggravation. She had no clue about what could've caused this. Well, that wasn't entirely true she had one clue. _"Desovar._" She snarled. They were creatures who crossed over to the human realm. She found out about them when she saw a War Troll fighting some teenagers while she was on her daily walk through the woods. She pressed her palm to her forehead. She now knew why all these creatures were leaking out. While some of these appearances were random, for the most part they were coming for one thing: The Blade of Exile.

"Hello, Sarah."

Sarah jumped before spinning around to punch Max square in the face. He fell flat on his back as her blow lifted him from his feet. He tried to alleviate the pain by holding his bruised face in hands. He groaned like a baby. "Ow!" He yelled. "What did I do?!"

"You scared the hell out of me!" she hisses before she crossed her arms over her shoulders. "Why are you here, anyway?" She asked. Max stood up, still rubbing his assaulted face. "Well, I thought that you would like to know what happened here." He goaded.

She arched a brow at that comment. "Wait, for starters, how did you know I moved to Daventry?" Max rolled his eyes. "You enrolled your kid brother in my school. What did you expect?"

Ironically, she was expecting to be as far as she could be from _him. _But other than that, she thought that this would be a perfect place to tell him the truth of his birth. Where it all started. However, she wouldn't let Max know anything except that Michael was her brother.

"I thought that you would be stationed somewhere else. I went for a more humble and reasonable. You know all the things that you're not." She insulted, unfolding her arms and tucking them in her pockets. Max feigned laughter. "Very funny. Now, come on."

Sarah screwed her face up into a stern frown. "'Come on?' Do you really think that I would go anywhere with you?" She proclaimed, pointing her finger at Max in emphasis. Max opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, a skinny teenager dressed in a striped shirt and khaki shorts walked up beside him. He nervously waved towards Sarah before he spoke. "Uh, Max? We need to get going. The police are evacuating civilians from the scene." He explained.

Max rolled his eyes in clear aggravation. "Fine. Sarah, would you be so kind in joining us?" He asked with a noble, yet sarcastic tone. Sarah couldn't care less about Max's attitude. But the kid did intrigue her. Casting a smirk over to the skinny kid, she smirked. "Jeez, Max. Child Molestation? How low have you fallen?" She asked and joked at the same time.

Max looked infuriated while the kid looked horrified by the very thought of him being with Max that way. Good. While she was joking, she was also seeing if her suggestion was true. Alright, so child molestation was Max's status quo. As a matter of fact, his hatred for the act was one of the only noble things about him. But the hatred for hurting children was universal. So he got no points for that.

"Don't even joke like that. You know I don't do heinous acts." He said. Sarah sighed. "I'm so sorry," She rushed. "Now, what do you want with me?"

Max leaned in to whisper in her ear. Sarah was about to punch him again, but caught herself as she heard his words. "Michael was attacked by a leak."

Her eyes widened at that. Then, taking him by the hand, Sarah led Max towards her black convertible. She climbed in on the driver's side and started the car without even putting on her seat belt. The kid had to actually run to keep up with them.

She accelerated out of her parking spot. While some officers seemed suspicious of her actions, none perused. "What do you mean a leak attacked Michael?" She demanded as she drove at speeds that would've caused her some trouble had the police not been at her house.

Max's face stoic, he answered. "I mean that one of the leaks from Conqueror attacked him and my students." The kid who was apparently one of his students squealed. Max waved off his reaction. "Relax, kid. She knows about leaks. Hell, she hates them more than we do."

Sarah gave Max a look that told him exactly what she thought of him as. Nothing. Her voice rid of emotion she gave her response to his statement. "I know _I _hate them. I don't know if _you _do." From the look on Max's face, she could tell that Max caught her meaning.

"I hate leaks to, Sarah. What I did was…words can't even describe it. Or how sorry I am." He said with what Sarah thought was sincere remorse. But Max Ross wasn't the breed for that kind of emotion.

"As if," She retorted. "Now, tell me why Michael was attacked." She said. She already had a good idea of why this happened. But she wanted to be sure. Max narrowed his eyes. "You know why. The Blade of Exile." Sarah cursed. "I knew it."

"Yeah. Care to explain? I missed the tutorial." Max said as he crossed his arms over his chest once again.

Sarah's expression didn't change. Nor did she care for Max's sarcasm. "I'll explain when I see Michael."

**Michael **opened the door for Angie, who smiled as she walked inside. Once he saw the inside of the HQ, he almost regretted riding off. The inside was covered with various machines and decorations. What stood out most were the servers and the huge T-rex head. "So this is your hangout spot?" Michael asked, still gawking at his surroundings.

"Yep." Angie stated plainly. She looked around to see if anyone was around. She then turned to give Michael a devious smirk. "And there's no one here." Michael smiled as he closed the gap between them, and pulled Angie closer. He then lowered his lips to hers.

It wasn't even a full minute into the kiss before Sarah crashed through the door. Shocked by the disturbance, Michael spun to see if it was another leak. Seeing his sister, he ran from Angie into her open arms. "I'm so glad you're okay." Michael said as he sighed a breath of relief. Sarah stood there, holding Michael as if she never wanted to let go. She didn't. She wanted him to stay the same forever. "I'm glad I'm okay to." She joked.

Michael laughed as he pulled away. "Come on, you can sit over here." He said, indicating the red coach with his thumb. Sarah walked over and sat down just as Max and the kid she know knew as Wyatt walked in.

"Lyle and Dante will be here in a few." Wyatt explained, "Then you can tell us more about the Blade of Exile."

A few minutes passed as Michael and Sarah remained awkwardly quite. Just when the tension was getting even more heated, Lyle and Dante burst through the door. They froze when they saw Sarah. Michael caught their gazes as his own darkened.

"Okay." Angie said, dragging out the word as she tried to take the boy's attention off of Michael sister before he tore their throats out. "Now, about the Blade of Exile."

Sarah sighed before she stood. "When I created the Blade of Exile, I created it as a tool for creation, unison, and protection. It was created as the ultimate weapon against the forces of darkness. Its wielder is granted enhanced charisma and a state of mind that brings beings together. Due to being a divine weapon, the Blade of Exile is the only sure-fire way to destroy Maldark and his ilk. Before you ask, it gets its name from the fact that it "exiles" evil from any place or time."

Michael's eyes widened as he absorbed that knowledge. Wyatt pointed out something Max told them about the blade. "Max told us that it increases the wielder's physical power to."

Sarah smirked. "No, he was wrong." She truly savored that word when it applied to Max; who normally thought he was omniscient. "The Blade of Exile doesn't just increase physical power, it increases every aspect of the player. Power, speed, magical prowess. You name it, the Blade of Exile has it. As usual, Max only told you _half _of the story."

"Whatever." Max pouted. Angie had to ask this question. If she held it in any longer she would explode. "So, is Michael its wielder?" Sarah looked over to her. Her face showed no emotion when she answered. "Yes."

Lyle hopped up. "That's how he was able to fight on par with the leak?" Sarah shook her head. "No, it wasn't."

Dante scoffed. "Oh, yeah? So how was he able to do it then?"

Sarah's expression didn't change. "That's something that's strictly none of your business." Michael was taken aback by her response. She never talked to anyone like that before. She was usually kind and caring, never cold and secretive. But, she was still his sister. He had faith that his trust wasn't misguided.

Angie asked another question. She was nearly standing with anxiety. "Is Michael a leak?"

"No." Sarah answered plainly. "But, if he's going to withstand Maldark and his friends, he's going to have to learn how to use the Blade of Exile."

Michael stood. He still had some questions for his sister. But right now, they would wait. "Okay. So how do I do that?"

Before Sarah could answer, a portal leaked out from behind them. Michael was shocked silent at what he saw come out.


	9. Chapter 9

When Michael saw the gorgeous female inter the HQ from the portal, he gasped in aspiration. Angie must have heard or saw him gawking because the next thing he knew she slapped him on the back of the head. Not hard, but with enough force to get his attention back on her.

"Ow!" He yelped, rubbing the back of his head. Angie huffed before she placed her hands on her hips. "I just wanted you to remember who your girlfriend was."

He rolled is eyes. "And kissing me wouldn't have reminded me?"

"No. Well, it would have, but that would have been too great of a reward." Wyatt cleared his throat to bring their attention back to the matter at hand. "Um, guys? In case you didn't notice, we have a situation to fix."

They both looked back at him, before Lyle clasped him on the shoulder. "Dude," He said in a foreboding tone. "You _never _stop couple arguments. Even if the world is at stake." "Yeah," Dante snorted. "Even I know that."

Ignoring them, Angie looked at her old Glamazonian ally. "Grinella." She spoke in awe that her friend had came to visit her. But something was wrong, Angie knew this when Grinella collapsed on the floor before her.

Worried for her friend, Angie grabbed a pillow from the couch and ran towards her, she then proceeded to genteelly roll her onto her back. Lifting her head up, Angie slid the pillow under her head. "Grinella!" She cried, "What's wrong?"

Coughing, Grinella slowly and wearily opened her eyes. "It's…Maldark." She wheezed. "He knows about the Blade of Exile." She barely finished before she fainted.

Michael spun towards Sarah and Max, who where both stunned as what just happened. "We need an ambulance!" Max finally looked up from his shock as the proclamation finally broke him out his daze. "Are you kidding me?" He snarled. "If we take a Glamazonian to the hospital then they're going to be suspicious of her and her…unique attire."

"Then what are we going to do?" Sarah yelled at Max. Max turned towards Wyatt, Dante, and Lyle. The three boys immediately caught his meaning. The Booty Box. It was where they kept all of their rewards and other things that where left behind by leaks from the game.

Dante scurried over to the box and opened it. Next to the charm bracelet was a healing potion that they gained from defeating the Witch Doctor a few months ago. Dante hurried over to Grinella and started pouring the potion over her form. The liquid began to evaporate and transform into pure energy which then enveloped the Glamazonian's form in light.

Her eyes shot open as she sat up and began to feel the certain places of where her wounds once were. She sighed a breath of relief. "Thank you, Never Fail." Angie smiled before she helped Grinella to her feet.

"What happened?" She asked. Grinella straightened up her posture before she answered. "Maldark. He discovered that the Blade of Exile had returned. Fear consumed him, and he declared war on all the worlds. Including yours."

Michael, Sarah, Angie and the guys where all shocked at that revelation. Maldark was going to launch an all out war on them. Sarah slammed the palm of her hand to her forehead. "Damn it," She swore to herself. "Why did I ever help Max create that stupid game?"

Michael turned at that little piece of information. "Wow, Sis. You helped make Conqueror?" She smiled weakly. "Yeah, and it's turned out to be a real pain in the butt."

Max groaned before he crossed his arms over his chest. "As much as I would like to go over who did what. We have a serious problem on our hands. And when I say 'serious' I mean a cyberpotent and transcendent dark lord who plans to destroy our world. So if you don't mind, let's cut through the crap."

Sarah _really _hated to admit it. But, Max was right. They had a mondo problem to take care of. 'Cause if they didn't, it would be the end for them all. "So, what do we do now?"

Michael simply put his hands into his pockets. "I have to master the Blade of Exile."

Angie turned towards his direction. He made it sound so simple when, in fact, they didn't know anything using the Blade. "And, how exactly do you plan on doing that?"

Sarah stepped forward. "I have an idea." She said, with a hint of a smirk on her face. Max arched a brow. "And that is?" Ignoring him, she began to explain. "When I created the Blade of Exile, I also made a special training program for the one who would use it. Being that its incredible power reaches beyond what normal training could accomplish. Using this, Michael should be able to use the blade against Maldark."

Grinella's eyes widened. "Really?" Sarah nodded "Yep." "So, who is this Michael?" Michael cast a sheepish look in her direction. "You're lookin' at him baby."

Grinella took in Michael's form. Granted, the boy was muscular, but there was no way that someone as small as him could be the Wielder. "Are you sure?"

Angie stifled a laugh which ended up being a full blown snort. "Yeah. It may be a little hard to swallow, but he's the real deal."

Wyatt got annoyed. "Aren't we trying to save the world here!? What the hell is al this chatting for?!"

Everyone looked towards Wyatt. Frankly, Angie was shocked. She'd never seen or heard him curse before. Although he was highly prone to freak-outs. But luckily, Michael was able to calm him down. "Hey," He said in a soothing tone. "Calm down, buddy. We're all stressed out here. Cracking jokes is just what we have to do to keep or brains from exploding." He said in a jokingly manner.

Wyatt was still seething, although he seemed to calm down a slight measure. Enough to keep his mouth closed. That was good enough for Angie. "Anyway," she began. "We should really get started with this training. Grinella, when is Maldark going to start this war he keeps moaning about?"

Grinella's face was grim. "He's already started. He has already wiped out most of the Glamazons. Everyone in what you call the "game", has either been defeated, decided to retreat, or has just out right been killed."

Dante and Lyle's eyes widened almost simultaneously. "Even Sir Guy?" Dante asked. "What about my wachupa, and Bob the Barbarian?"

Grinella shook her head. "I'm sorry, they fought valiantly, and even the wachupa's sacrifice could not stop them."

"Sacrifice?" Lyle asked. Max seemed like he understood perfectly. "The wachupa needs love in order to survive. So, it must have exposed itself to severe hate and malice in order to explode. That thing is smart." He said grimly.

Grinella nodded. "Yes. But even with that, combined with the efforts of my sisters, we were still no match for Maldark's onslaught."

Lyle and Dante lowered their heads in sorrow at the news. "It's going to be all right guys. We're going to beat Maldark and make him pay for what he's done."Angie declared.

Michael wasn't really sure what to say. On one hand, the guys who had just died in battle seemed to be of great importance to Lyle and Dante. On the other, he'd never met them before and they didn't have time for sorrow because Maldark was coming. "Look, guys." He said sorrowfully. "I'm really sorry about what happened to your friends."

Dante shot up from his seat. "Oh, shut up!" He snarled, "What the hell do _you_ know?! We've only known each other for what? Five days? Where do you get off acting all noble; like you actually know who the fuck we're talking about." He yelled in obvious pain before he stormed out of the HQ.

Angie was at a lost for words. And jading by the looks on everyone's faces, she wasn't alone. Lyle indicated the door with his thumb. "I'm going to go talk to him." He said before he too made his exit.

Michael simply stood there. While he was slightly offended, he could understand Dante's anger. He'd just lost who seemed to be a friend to him. Not to mention that he had just crashed into their lives, and from the looks of it, put a major dent in it. He started towards the door after Dante to go apologize for what he did.

Angie, thinking Michael was going to fight Dante, hurried to intercept him. "Wait, Michael don't." Michael stop dead in his tracks as Angie stood in front of him. There where tears in her eyes, but they never slid down her face. Something he would expect from someone as strong as her.

"What's wrong?" Michael asked, completely oblivious to the reason behind her actions. "What's wrong?" She repeated incredulously. "Maldark's destroying everything and is gunning for us, and this time he's not alone but has a huge army backing him and you're about to go fight Dante! _That's _what's wrong."

Michael put his hands on Angie's shoulders. "Relax. I'm not going to go fight Dante. I just wanted to talk to him." She seemed to relax at that as her shoulders loosened.

She racked her hand through her hair. "Alright. I'm sorry. It's just that all of this is really sudden." Michael smiled genteelly, before he pulled her into a tender hug, of which she quickly replied before she kissed him. Pulling back from the kiss, he smiled. "Better?"

She smiled back; everything seemed too stabilized as she was in his arms. And that scorching kiss by those full, soft lips made everything infinitely better. "Much. Thanks."

Lyle and Dante walked back in. Dante's head was hung low as his bangs covered his eyes. "Dante," Lyle said in a matter of fact tone. "Don't you have something to say?"

Dante rolled his eyes. "Yeah, whatever." He sighed before he continued. "Look I'-"

Before he could get the words out, a portal opened again. Time seemed to stop as everyone's breath caught in their throats. Maldark. And he wasn't alone…


	10. Chapter 10

Yeah. Normally when you saw an evil, digital dark lord, you normally thought that he would be in a more respectable position.

Not this time.

In fact, the only thing that shocked Angie more than his arrival was the condition he was in. Battered and beaten to a bloody pulp, Angie could only recognize Maldark by his abnormally large head. He was slumped over another entity's left shoulder, obviously passed out or dead. But what really made the hairs on the back of her head stand at attention was the menacing demon/ninja-like creature that held Maldark.

Clad in black armor, the demon thing had glowing blue eyes and an impressive wing span across its back. It slammed Maldark to the floor with a sickening thud. His blood streaked down the left side of the armor all the way to the floor. The demon unsheathed a massive samurai sword before it spoke.

"Pathetic." It snarled, Angie didn't know if it was upset with them or Maldark. "This piece of crap is the dark lord of the southern part of the galaxy? I've stepped on roaches stronger than him." He spat a green acid-like substance that burned into Maldark's skin.

He looked towards them. "Now, for the Wielder." It leveled a knowing look on Michael. "Perhaps you may be a stronger opponent than that other filth. It's a shame really, even with the combined powers of his Heralds of the Maldarkian Apocalypse; he was still no match for me."

Everyone's eyes widened at that revelation. Heralds of the Maldarkian Apocalypse where some of Maldark's more powerful creations. They where only able to defeat them thanks to Joaquin's ingenuity. But the way this guy made it sound, even _they _he could step on like insects.

Angie's train of thought was interrupted by a strange sound. A strange cackle, which turned into a full-blown, borderline sadistic guffaw on Michael's part. Angie spun around to see what her boyfriend could possibly be laughing about in a situation like this.

What she saw blew her mind.

Michael was covered in a golden white light. It illuminated his entire body and made his hair spike up. His eyes where crimson red and his skin was covered in seemingly ancient symbols while his skin tone darkened three shades, while his hair turned whiter than snow. Two double edged swords manifested in the palm of both his hands as he charged the demon.

The demon drew his sword as the two clashed. Buffering winds where the result of the clash as Angie, Wyatt, Lyle, and Dante where blown back into the wall by the force. Max and Sarah found refuge behind the equipment Never Fail used to ready themselves for barding.

Michael smiled gleefully as he launched his foot into the beast chest. It flew back before flipping onto its feet, throwing its hand out, it manifested a red chain that encircled Michael's body. With that same unnerving smile, Michael lifted the blade and threw it down with such force it severed the chain like it was nothing but paper.

This time Michael threw his left arm out and sent a large blast straight fro the beast. It parried with the sword as it began to glow a purple light. "Turn to dust, fool!" It snarled before sending an immense wave of energy towards Michael.

Michael lifted his blade and returned the blast with one of his own. The explosion didn't destroy anything. That was thanks to Sarah. She manifested a staff that was similar to Lyle's but hers was more stylish and had a lavender color to it. Angie really had to discuss the powers she possessed. The blast was sucked into what Lyle described as a level 100 teleportation spell. While the explosion did mild damage, the spell had sucked most, if not all of it up. Strangely enough though, Angie and the guys weren't affected by it. Maybe it just worked on things from the Game.

The beast looked as perplexed as Angie felt. But it couldn't as anything. Not with Michael charging in for the kill. It ducked his sword strike by spinning towards Michael's left. He lifted his foot in kick so hard, it made Angie flinch to hear what sounded like broken ribs on Michael's part.

Angie pulled out her leather glove, which then transformed into her Fist of Schoolage. She ran towards the beast. It threw Michael aside and confronted her. She landed a clean punch on its torso, but it didn't seem to even feel it. Instead, it looked down on her with an expression she couldn't make. Before she could react, a huge battle cry she couldn't have been happier to hear rung out.

"Tulta Menallie!" The boys yelled. Dante ran with his Skull Cracker while Wyatt moved to get Angie away from the leak. It popped its neck back into place before it kicked Dante in the chest with lightning fast speed and thunderous strength. Saliva and blood spurred from the teen's mouth as he flew backwards into the wall with such force Angie was surprised he didn't break threw it.

"Dante!" Lyle and Wyatt yelled out while Max and Sarah looked on in horror. Suddenly, a huge stream of light erupted from behind the malicious creature. Michael, now covered from head to toe in golden armor which was no doubt made from the aura that had enveloped him, stabbed the leak threw the shoulder.

It cursed before it teleported away from Michael. Upon closer inspection, Angie could see that armor Michael was wearing was identical to the leak's. The only exceptions being his pure white hair, that flowed all the way down to his waist, and the pair of crimson eyes he still bore.

Michael stood upright and glared at the leak. "This is between you and I, Marwick. Leave them out of this." He growled in a tone she'd never heard before. The leak laughed at him. "Since when do _you_ care about what happens to humans? _'Michael'._" It said his name like it knew something about him that was hidden.

"Since now." Michael said plainly before he held his hand out. Runic symbols appeared along the leaks vicinity before they imploded around him. It seemed like another teleportation spell. Because the monster was gone, and all that was left was Maldark's bloody corpse.

Michael walked over to it while Angie ran to check on Dante. Lyle was performing a healing spell along with Sarah. Although, Sarah seemed a bit distracted.

"is he going to be okay?" Angie asked worryingly. Wyatt looked grim, but he nodded. "I think so, that leak really knocked him for a loop. But with Lyle and Sarah's combined healing spells, he should make a full recovery."

"It's his fault for being such a idiot." Lyle snarled, frustration and worry for his friend clear across his face. "He should have never charged in like that. He maybe crazy, maybe even stupid sometimes. But he's never been suicidal." He narrowed his gaze on Angie. "Especially not over _you._"

Angie felt that like a slap to the face. "You're saying it's_ my _fault?" She nearly yelled. How was any of this her fault? Dante hated her, he made that very clear everyday. So how this was her fault was far beyond her.

Lyle scoffed as if her where disgusted with her very existence. "Can you really be that stupid? Dante doesn't hate you he-" Lyle didn't finish the sentence. Something brushed passed her towards Dante. It lifted him from the floor and held him by his neck in its hands.

Lyle took his staff and called out a destruction spell. Only to stop when he saw what was happening.

Michael. Michael was healing Dante again. A silver aura enveloped the teen as he began to wheeze and cough. He opened his eyes to see Michael holding him. To his credit, he didn't scream like a girl. Rather, he fainted.

Michael flashed towards the coach and laid him genteelly on the cushions. He then turned to face the rest of them. A long, flowing red cape ran from his shoulders and ran down to his legs. He narrowed his gaze on them. "What is this? What's happening to me?"

Sarah stepped forward with an explanation. Max drew a relived breath. He must've thought that Michael would have hurt or killed one of them if they didn't cough up any explanations.

"It's the Blade of Exile. It's accepting you as its wielder. You're starting to master it." She explained.

"Good." Michael sounded relived. "I thought I was turning into one of those things."

Before anyone else could make another sound. Joaquin entered the HQ. When he looked up and saw Michael dressed like some sort of knight, he arched a brow. "Uh, okay. Is this a leak or something, cause…" He manifested the War Hammer. He seemed to have much more experience with his weapon. None of them could simply manifest a weapon. Strike up another wicked power for Joaquin.

"No!" Angie shouted, putting herself between Joaquin and Michael. "Don't hurt him." Okay. That sounded dumb even to her. Considering how strong Michael became in his… 'Armored' form, the thought of Joaquin doing anything other than dirtying his boots with his blood was plausible. But to Michael's credit, he didn't laugh at her.

Joaquin looked confused. "He's a leak isn't he? Oh God, don't tell me you've gotten so desperate that you've accepted a leak for your want to be boyfriend."

Angie scowled. Max laughed. "Yeah, what with the mad cow dude, Leroy, Steve Schmidt, and Philbert, Angie sure has her hands full."

"Dude!" Angie yelled. Michael looked amused. "And, exactly who are all those people?"

Joaquin answered. "All of her 'boyfriends'" He actually made air quotes with his hands. "One stood her up, the other doesn't even exist, and, get this, the last one's a leak." He pointed a Michael. "Guess that's right up your alley, huh?"

Michael arched a brow. "This, Philbert exist?" Joaquin nodded. "Yeah, he was her first. If you know what I mean. Let's just say, consistent racket and dirty talk I heard that night still haunts me."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Michael said angrily. "Your first?"

Angie held her hands up, trying to placate Michael. "Look, Michael. You have to understand-"

Michael cut her off. "Why you never told me any of this? Why you lied to me? Why you would dare tell me to not call you a liar when you've done nothing but lie? Yeah, you're right Angie, I _have _to understand. To bad I have a blade to master and a war to fight. See you around." With a growl, he flashed himself from HQ.

Angie spun on Joaquin with a murderous glare in her eyes. Eyes that where misted with tears. It wasn't enough that the little prick had to show her up in everything. He also had to ruin the one thing that was good in her life. Without a word to him, she stormed out of HQ.

The little snot was right behind her. "Wait, Angie." Joaquin begged as he pulled her to a reluctant stop. She snatched away from him before she spun around, two tear flowing down her cheeks. "You just had to take this away from me to, didn't you? You took Washington, Never Fail, and now you've caused my only boyfriend to break up with me. Just so you know, Philbert and I didn't have sex. He was just acting like an idiot. Contrary to _your _belief, I'm not some cheap whore."

He looked taken aback by her anger. He had some nerve to act surprised after what he had just pulled. Before her anger rose to where she would strike him, Angie snatched herself out of his grip and stormed towards Lyle's car to find Michael.


	11. Chapter 10 Part 2

The portal leaked, and Michael was darn near slung out of its vortex. The thing could have at least had let him down easy. And not flat on his face. "_Like Angie?" _He stiffened instantly. Yeah, Angie really dropped a bomb on him with that one. Leroy, Hugo, _Her First. _"Damn it, Angie. Why didn't you tell me?"

Maybe because she wasn't obliged to. They'd only known each other for a few days. But why did he feel this way? He balled his hand into a fist in the ground. He stood hastily, and instantly regretted it as his body was still getting use to being thrown out of a vortex. He didn't even know he had that power until after he left the HQ. It was like he was learning to control the blade by himself. Awesome.

He had launched himself directly behind the Baer's Superstar Diner. He felt a strong "presence" here. Whether it was malevolent or benevolent he didn't know. "Guess, it wouldn't hurt to find out."

Yeah. Since when did anything _not _hurt lately? Preparing himself for a possible confrontation, he head in through the back door. He looked around and everything seemed normal. Until he saw a tall man in a trench coat with black slacks and a white T-shirt. He didn't know why, but he felt like there was something "off" with that guy.

He started towards him, but immediately stopped as a huge explosion was heard outside the dinner. The adults and teens alike rushed towards the front door to investigate. Michael whirled back and saw that the man in the trench coat was gone. His eyes widened. How was he bale to… he may have been a leak. Damn.

He rushed out the back door and ran towards the front to see what was going on. Never Fail. And Angie. They where fighting the same creature that he had ran out of HQ before he stormed off. Jeez, even with that wound Michael gave him, he was still fighting circles around Never Fail. Why should he be surprised or even care? That would be the question, but it wasn't in him to just turn the other way when his friends where in trouble. Especially when only one of them was a liar.

He took a deep breath, and manifested a gold armor around his person. God, he loved this armor stuff. It really paid off. It was light and incredibly durable. Manifesting a golden katana, he rushed for the leak.

Angie fell flat on her back as the leak dropkicked her to the floor. While looking for Michael, the damn thing had rammed right into her car and snatched her out of it. Luckily, before it could do anything she had equipped her Fist of Schoolage and slammed her fist into its chest as hard as she could. She then called the others and, almost reluctantly, they came to help her out as she hid.

Jeez, everyone was upset with her today. Not that she didn't deserve it. She'd lied to her pseudo boyfriend, exploded on her brother, and took one of her friend's car without even asking. Yeah, she was being a real… female dog lately.

The monster slapped Dante away as he approached her. Joaquin, armed with his War Hammer stepped in between her and the leak. Wow, he was strangely both the first and the last person she would expect to save her. That was, until Michael, in full armor form tackled the leak. She could tell it was taken aback by the assault. Not as much as she was, but still surprised.

Joaquin helped her to her feet as she stared at Michael and mouthed a gap. He walked backwards from it, allowing it to climb back to its feet. "Well, well." The leak slurred tauntingly. "Look who finally joined the party. It's so nice to have you back Michael."

Michael didn't even seem to hear the beast as he looked around his surroundings. He then looked back at the beast, and shot a blast straight at its chest.

The beast jumped up, evading the blast completely. But, Michael was way faster than he was before. He leaped directly in front of it and tamped its chest. Runic symbols appeared along the length of its breastplate as a portal leaked opened behind it. The portal sucked him in immediately.

The armor faded away from Michael's from as he landed on the ground. He placed his hands into his pockets as he glanced towards Angie's direction. She immediately froze into place as she caught his icy glare.

Joaquin stepped forward. She would have turned toward him had her body not been seemingly put on neutral. "Look," Joaquin tried to explain. "Angie didn't sleep with anyone and probably hasn't even had a boyfriend other than you. I…I was just being an idiot. Please, take her back. I can't stand to look her in the eye anymore, knowing how much pained I've caused her."

Everyone, including Angie herself turned towards Joaquin's surprisingly sentimental plead. He turned back on them, offended. "What? A prodigy can't be poetic?"

Out of the corner of her eye Angie could see Dante's expression. He looked almost saddened. She would've asked what was wrong, but she was too worried about Michael's reply.

His face completely stoic, Michael looked from Angie to Joaquin and back to Angie. He didn't know whether or not to accept this "apology". Considering Angie herself never apologized.

Joaquin added, "May I tell you that Angie was crying when you left? She was incredibly hurt."

That was when Michael's eyes widened. He kept his gaze on Angie. She was biting her lip and cradling her left arm. She was tapping her foot insanely fast. He could tell that she was nervous and worried. About him. "You…you cried?" He asked, his voice barely hearable.

"Yes." She said plainly. Her voice had a stoic pain to it.

He walked towards her until he was standing right before her. She stopped biting her lips. They where swollen and almost inviting. He cupped her face in his hands and smiled genteelly. He then dipped his head down and captured her lips with his. He almost shuddered at the taste of her full, soft lips on his. She tasted so good.

Angie almost lost herself completely at the taste of her Michael. She was so wrong to lie to him like that. She inwardly thanked God that he was forgiving enough to let Michael forgive her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss even further.

Their haven was shattered at the sound of Dante's scream. "Enough!" He shouted.

Their kiss broke instantly. "What's wrong?" Angie asked as she let go of Michael.

Dante was breathing hard, like a panting dog after running four miles. "I can't tale it anymore." Dante muttered as he lifted his Skull Cracker and rested it on his shoulder. "I'm quitting Never Fail." Dante said as he dropped a bombshell on the entire group.

_Finally! Chapter 10 part 2 is finished! Don't worry, even IF Level Up is being cancelled you can expect more chapters of Blade of Exile!_


	12. Chapter 11

Angie paused involuntarily along with Michael. Dante? Quit Never Fail? That just didn't make any sense. "What do you mean you're quitting Never Fail?" She asked incredously.

Dante looked at her with a stoic countenance that none of them had ever seen before. "I mean what I said. I. Quit. Never. Fail." He said tauntingly, pronouncing every word slowly to Angie as if she road the short bus. This started to really piss her off.

She slowly pulled herself away from Michael, who was still staring at Dante with dumfound ness in his eyes. She stalked over towards Dante until she was staring up into the young teen's eyes. Strange. He didn't reek of month old pizza and tauter sauce. Nor did his hair look like he "conditioned" it with maple syrup. Even his clothes where different. A nice white v neck and clean and pressed jeans with shiny black Converse.

"What did you do to yourself? Finally take a shower?" Angie said, almost choking on the fact that she was using the term "Shower" to someone like Dante without a clever joke on Angie's part.

Dante rolled his eyes and walked away from her, she caught him by the shoulder. "Hey! Don't walk away from me!" She yelled. Dante spun on her and grabbed her by the collar and pulled her to where she was only inches away from his eyes. "Don't yell at me!" He yelled into her face. "I know I'm gross, impulsive, revolting and every other disgusting word in the damn dictionary! I know that. But what I don't know is why I'm trying to change myself for someone who doesn't give two shits about me. _That_ is what I don't know." He nearly threw her back down and she almost fell on her butt if Michael hadn't caught her. He had a malevolent look in his eyes. He stood her up on her own feet and started for Dante, his hands knotted into fist.

Angie moved as fast as she could and caught him by the arm. "Michael, don't." She pleaded, although her voice was barely audible. What was Dante talking about? Why would he change himself for her? Things just kept getting weirder and weirder.

Michael shook his head, as if her where shaking off a trance. He pressed his palm to his right temple, trying to relieve some of the pain. "Sorry, I just blanked out…" He tried to explain.

"It's fine." Angie placated. Wyatt walked over towards the couple as Lyle ran after Dante. "What was that all about?" Wyatt asked; his thumb indicating Dante.

Angie shrugged her shoulders. "I have no clue." Michael looked like he wanted to say something but didn't. Angie noticed and was about to ask him what was wrong, but Lyle came brooding over with anger in his eyes.

"Well, I hope you're happy. Dante has no intention of rejoining Never Fail. I still can't believe he quit because of _you_." He spat at her with an overbearing flow of malice in his voice.

Angie couldn't take it anymore. "Look, I don't know why everyone is so upset with me. I didn't do anything to him. He's just being selfish, as always."

Lyle crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head. "You're so fucking dense. I thought girls where supposed to have an intuition."

Angie was downright offended. "What the hell is that suppose to mean?" She growled as she went for Lyle but was stopped by Michael. She ripped away and turned on him. "And why are you so quiet? You're supposed to be my boyfriend and defend me. Not just sit quietly on the sidelines while some other dude talks to me like that."

Michael scoffed. "Now come on, Angie. We both know that you don't need my help. But I think you should hear Lyle out. And besides, it doesn't matter what he says about you. As long as he doesn't put his hands on you." He then turned towards Lyle, "And turn the insult vibe to a minimum, please."

Angie held her hands up in surrender and decided to listen for once. "Alright, fine."

Lyle sighed. "Look, the reason why Dante said what he did is because he's in love with you. He has been every since you two met."

Angie was shocked silent. Michael was surprisingly quiet and even nodded in agreement. "Like I thought. He has feelings for her."

Lyle nearly did a double take. "Really?! I mean come on, even _Michael _figured it out and he only knew Dante for a couple of days. "You've known him for two years, and you're still in the dark."

Angie took a step back. No, it couldn't be possible. Dante? In love with her? The same boy who ate food he found on the floor or in his locker. The same boy who agreed to eat a peanut butter and tuna sandwich on a one dollar gamble had the hots for her? No. Way.

"Uh, no. I think you're mistaken. There is no way that Dante could ever like me. It's just unnatural."

"Apparently not. Don't you know you're the only girl that he ever felt like this for?" Lyle asked.

She didn't. And frankly, it was depressing. "Well, why didn't he tell me? We've known each other for two years, he could have told me." She shot back.

"Guys," Wyatt intervened. We don't have time for this. We have to get back to HQ. I just got off the phone with Sarah. It's major business."


End file.
